Worship for Allah, not recognition
“You're not fasting for someone to know.”
Because worldly possessions and status fade, believers should sincerely fulfill their obligations, add voluntary worship, and guard their hearts and tongues to seek Allah's lasting pleasure and love.
The khutbah in 5 steps
- Opens with prayers for the deceased, sick, families, volunteers, and children, then praises Allah and the Prophet.
- Explains the Quranic reminder that worldly things perish while what is with Allah endures.
- Urges listeners to examine daily intentions and redirect worship from recognition or worldly gain toward sincerity.
- Expounds the hadith qudsi on avoiding enmity toward believers and drawing closer to Allah through voluntary acts.
- Highlights the Sunnah prayers before Fajr and warns against backbiting, rumors, and resentment.
In the khateeb's words
“You're not fasting for someone to know. You're not reading Qur'an for someone to say you are a reciter of Qur'an.”
“How much of our minutes, our moments, our hours that we spend speaking, working, listening, hearing, walking, standing still, sitting. How much of it is only because of this world?”
“Because everyone in here could be a friend of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Why would you have something in your heart against them?”
For the dinner table
Today the khateeb reminded us that everything we own and chase in this world will one day disappear, but every good deed we do sincerely for Allah stays with Him forever. He asked us to think about our whole day and ask how much of it we are doing for Allah and how much is only for this world. He also taught us to never hold hatred or spread bad talk about other believers, because any person sitting next to us could be a close friend of Allah, and only Allah knows who His friends are. He encouraged us to do more than the minimum: sunnah prayers, extra fasts, reading Qur'an, charity and helping others, because these bring us closer to Allah until He loves us. And he shared the beautiful hadith that the two sunnah rak'ahs before Fajr are better than the whole world and everything in it.
- What is one thing you did today only for Allah, even if nobody saw it?
- If the two sunnah rak'ahs of Fajr are better than the whole world, what could help our family pray them more often?
- Why do you think Allah keeps secret who His special friends are?
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